Every former Disneyland Resort Cast Member has a special spot in their memories -- the place where they laughed with friends during their breaks, where they made a special guest's day, or where they met their future spouse. For former Cast Members, these special places are frozen in time.

In August of 1993, I started working in the Disneyland Guest Relations department as a plaid-clad tour guide. It was an exciting time and an opportunity to be part of the magic of Disneyland in a department that was steeped in traditions and rituals dating back to Walt Disney himself.

I was introduced to my own special spot before the end of my first year: Walt Disney's apartment.

Walt Disney's apartment was built above the Main Street Fire Station next to City Hall. As one of the first buildings constructed at Disneyland, it gave him a bird's eye view from which to oversee Disneyland's construction. Once the park opened, the apartment served as a place for Walt to entertain friends and family and watch guests' reactions as they entered and exited the park.

Today, Walt's apartment is a shrine dedicated to preserving yesteryear. Although closed to the public, Disneyland guests who look up at the apartment window from Main Street can see that the lamp is always left on in Walt's memory. If they could venture inside the tiny studio apartment, they would see that little has changed since the Disney family called it a home away from home.

I was captivated by every inch of the 500-square-foot space. It has a Victorian-era décor to match its Main Street exterior, as well as variety of antiques—many of which once owned by Walt's wife Lillian or sold at the park's One Of A Kind Antiques store.

Upon entering Walt's apartment for the first time, I was thrilled to see so many things that I loved and treasured in my own life there in front of me. With my mouth agape, I stood to take it all in: Lillian Disney's teacup collection (I had a tea cup collection too!), beautiful fabrics, lovely artifacts and pieces of furniture at every turn.

I began making my way around the room, not really sure if my feet were making contact with the maroon carpet. I admired Lillian's teacup collection, and the other guides giggled as I named each cup and saucer's country of origin and even maker or cup type without having to pick it up.

There's an electricity and magic in Walt's apartment that cannot be experienced anywhere else in the Disneyland Resort. This was a place where Walt planned out and lived his dream.

During my time at Disneyland, I became an unofficial caretaker of Walt's apartment. Whenever word came that someone was going to be taken "upstairs," I was asked to get the apartment show ready—tidy, stocked and primped.

Truth be told, things were rarely out of place. Nevertheless, I always grabbed the keys and raced to the apartment as fast as penny loafers could take me. Those were my moments alone with the Disneys.

I would gently unlock the door and slowly enter the apartment, careful to take it in each time just like I did during my first visit. I would unhurriedly make my way through, imagining what it would have been like to be one of Walt's invited guests.

What it must have been like to be Mrs. Disney attempting to prepare a light snack from the apartment's small wet bar area or to have been one of the Disney grandchildren playing with toys on the floor. I would saunter over to the bathroom area where next to the door stands a highboy dresser and Walt's Bakelite grooming set, with hair still in the brush. I'd look out the window (careful not to be seen), down at the guests on Main Street, just as Walt had so many years before.

About a year before leaving the Disneyland Resort, I took a job writing for the resort. On my last day, in August of 1998, I asked for the keys so I could say good-bye to the special spot I loved. The farewell was bittersweet, as I knew it would be the last time I would see the apartment, a place that had meant so much to me.

That is until several weeks ago. Almost fourteen years after my last day working for the Disneyland Resort, I was invited to tour Walt's apartment—an honor I never imagined happening. I wasn't sure what to expect. I felt a bit anxious and nervous about the entire experience. What if I didn't feel that old magic? Would it have changed? Was it still being cared for the way I cared for it more than a decade ago? What if I had no reaction to the apartment at all? I could barely sleep the night before.

A lovely tour guide met me on Main Street by the fire station on a Friday afternoon and escorted me backstage, up the stairs to the apartment. There was that familiar sound of the keys jingling and the Jungle Cruise natives chanting in the background, as well as that white doorknob, centered in the middle of the door, that I had turned so many times before.

This was really happening.

As I stepped inside I gasped—out loud—as if it were the very first time I had seen the apartment. There it was. Every last trinket, teacup and piece of furniture just as I had left them; it was like traveling back in time.

At the end of her tour, I was going to be allowed to take a picture by that infamous window that overlooks Main Street. As I reached in my bag for my two cameras (one for a backup, just in case), the enormity of the moment caught up with me.

Hot tears began to roll down my cheeks, and in an instant, my past came flooding back to me in a wave. I could feel my tour guide costume against my skin, the pride I felt each time I unlocked the door to the apartment, the calm I experienced each time I sat in the peaceful space Walt called his home away from home and the laughs and cherished memories I had of my fellow guides.

In short, in that moment, I felt everything wonderful emotion and feeling I now associate with my time working at Disneyland.

A lot has changed in my life in the last fourteen years. I've married, had three beautiful children, followed my career dreams and even wrote a book about the Disneyland Resort. Although so much about my life has changed since my days working at Disneyland, my visit to the apartment has reminded me that I'm still the same girl who once escort guests around Disneyland wearing knee socks and a riding cap.

I still believe in the magic of Disneyland and Walt's original aspirations. I still believe in dreams coming true and in that moment, I realized that through hard work, all of my life dreams had come true, just as Walt realized his dreams had come true when he watched guests enter Disneyland for the first time through the apartment window. It was a really powerful moment—one I happily add to all of my other wonderful memories of my time working on Main Street, U.S.A.

Today, there are a number of specially trained guides who serve as official docents for Walt's apartment. They are tasked with ensuring the apartment is show ready and preserving its history. It was evident to me that this new generation of Cast Members truly appreciates what the apartment represents in Disney history—both in décor and as a place where Walt Disney realized his Disneyland dream. I am proud of what they are doing and hopeful that it provides them with a source of inspiration and fond memories in the years to come, just as it has for me.

Lisa Robertson is the author of the book Babes In Disneyland: The ultimate Disneyland Resort guide for families with young children. She is a freelance writer and social media consultant, mother of three and former writer and tour guide for the Disneyland Resort. She blogs about the Disneyland Resort and the Walt Disney Company at www.babesindisneylandblog.com.

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